Tasteful tongue twisters

The names of some foreign foods are a real mouthful

August 07, 2002|By Erica Marcus. Special to the Tribune. Erica Marcus is a staff reporter for Newsday, a Tribune newspaper.

We in America are blessed with an abundance of international comestibles -- and cursed with an inability to pronounce them. It's a linguistic jungle out there. Here's a survival guide. If you can't get your tongue around the pronunciations, though, realize that there's a good chance your waiter or counterman can't say them right either.

When in France

French is as difficult to pronounce as it is ubiquitous in tony restaurants. While a French accent take years to acquire, the following cheat sheet should set you on the right track. (And just remember, when you're feeling totally inadequate, that the average Frenchman's rendition of "hamburger" isn't anything to write home about.)

Coq au vin (COKE oh VANH). Although coq refers to a rooster, the dish usually means a hen braised in red wine (vin).

Duck a l'orange (DUCK ah-lo-RANHGE). Here's an example of one of those hybrids that starts with English, takes a sharp turn into French and leaves the speaker in the dust. Colman Andrews, editor of the food magazine Saveur, thinks that for consistency's sake the dish should be billed either as canard a l'orange (ca-NARH ah-lo-RAHNGE) or orange duck.

Steak au poivre (STAKE oh PWAHV). According to Andrews, we should really be calling this pepper steak.

Saveur (sa-VUR). While we're at it, we might as well tackle this food monthly. "In retrospect, calling it Saveur probably wasn't the wisest thing, but it's too late now," Andrews said. He advised, "If you speak French pretty well, you can try sa-VEUHR, but I tell Americans to say it as if it were sa-VUR. In any case, it's better than say-VIEW-er or `savior' -- which I hear a lot."

Confit (kohn-FEE). Confit means "preserved." The term traditionally refers to meat (often duck) that has been cooked, then preserved in its own melted fat. Vegetables such as onions and tomatoes whose life have been cooked out of them are also sometimes called confit.

Cordon bleu (core-donh BLEUH). Cordon bleu is simply French for "blue ribbon," and, as in English, the blue ribbon connotes culinary excellence. Veal (or chicken) cordon bleu is made by sandwiching ham and cheese between slices of meat and frying. Le Cordon Bleu is also a French cooking school established in 1895.

Prix fixe (PREE FEEKS). Fancy for "fixed price."

Haricots verts (AH-ree-co VAIR). "Haricot" is French for bean, "vert" means green, but "haricots verts" are specifically those very thin, very expensive string beans.

Vichyssoise (vee-shee-SWAHZ). A pureed soup of leeks and potatoes that is served cold. Vichyssoise is named for the French city of Vichy.

Mirepoix (meer-PWAH). Many French preparations start with a mirepoix, a sauteed mixture of chopped carrots, onions and celery.

Foie gras (FWAH GRAH). Literally "fat liver," foie gras refers to the liver of a goose (or duck) that has been force-fed for a number of months until its liver reaches gigantic, and fatty, proportions.

There's No K in Italian

Compared to the French, Italians are forgiving when it comes to the mangling of their language. And Italian isn't that hard to pronounce. But you can improve your Italian immeasurably by remembering that both "che" and "chi" are hard, K sounds--think of Chianti.

Bruschetta (brew-SKET-uh). This simple dish of toast rubbed with garlic and anointed with olive oil (and usually topped with tomatoes) is doubtless the most mispronounced word on any Italian menu. Your waiter may well have gotten it wrong.

Radicchio (ra-DEEK-yo). This crisp, red-leafed chicory brings up another rule of Italian: The "io" at the end of a word is one, not two syllables.

Maraschino (ma-ra-SKEE-no). It has become standard English to call the thoroughly denatured cherries that adorn your Shirley Temple "ma-ruh-SHEE-noes," but we thought you'd like to know the truth.

Ceci (CHEH-chee). The lowly chickpea offers an object lesson in pronunciation: Without an "h" after the "c," "ce" and "ci" are pronounced like the "ch" in chair.

Bet you can't eat just one

It's not a matter of pronunciation per se, but several Italian food words seem to have reached these shores only in their plural form.

Biscotti (bees-COHT-ee). Biscotti are first baked as a single loaf, then sliced and baked again to achieve their distinctive crispness. Bis means twice, and cotto means cooked, so a "biscotto" is a twice-cooked cookie. If you can't bring yourself to ask for "one biscotto, please," consider asking for "one of those biscotti."

Cannoli (can-NOHL-ee). Again, unless you're prepared for a substantial dessert, you want to order one cannolo.

Gnocchi (NYOH-kee). It's unlikely that you'll ever have the opportunity to order one gnocco (NYOH-ko), but now you'd know what to call it.

That final `E'

In French, a final "e" without an accent is usually silent, but in Italian and Spanish, you're safe pronouncing it.